Don't Let the Frostbite Bite
by mattock
Summary: Elsa/Anna. It's late, she's warm, and Anna's lips look so, so soft.


**Prompt: Elsa and Anna are talking and enjoying themselves when all of a sudden, Elsa kisses Anna on the lips without explanation. After that, Elsa locks herself in her room. Later that same evening, Anna decides to forcefully confront her about it. How it turns out is up to you, but happy endings are my favorite. Also, it'd be nice to see a more assertive Anna!**

"—and then, I crashed my bike right into the coat of armor at the bottom of the stairs! Mama was so mad! I thought she was going to throw me in the dungeons."

Elsa giggled softly to herself, covering her mouth with one pale hand and the other holding a half-finished mug of hot cocoa in her lap. Anna's was already drained and left to rest on the table in front of them, both of her hands moving wildly through the air as she retold her tale with enthusiasm.

It would've been an odd sight not too long ago to see the sisters in the same room, much less sitting close together on the couch in the Queen's study by the fire and sharing stories about the adventures each other had missed out on, but now, it was nothing if not normal. They were inseparable now, trading hugs and kisses on the cheek almost as often as they traded words which was already almost unnervingly frequently. Elsa always made time for Anna in between meetings and piles of paperwork and reports, and Anna always found a way to cheer her up and turn a boring day into one where she smiled more often than signing her name onto an agriculture summary she'd only skimmed through.

"Papa thought it was the funniest thing in the world, though. He helped me put poor Mr. Armor's arm and head back on, and Kai helped me polish him up. So when I crashed into him sliding down the stairs the _next week_, it was easier to clean him again!" Anna's grin was wide and infectious and Elsa couldn't help but smile back and even cuddle closer, letting her sister lay her animated arm around her shoulders so her head could rest in the crook of her neck.

"That sounds like a lot of fun. Papa never did teach me how to ride a bike. I think he was worried I'd end up in even more trouble than you did," she murmured, smiling slightly at the thought, while Anna playfully gasped.

"You need to learn! What if…What if you're challenged to a bike race to decide something between another kingdom! Freezing their butts off would be cheating, you know," argued the younger of the sisters, nodding her head as seriously as she could manage with a glimmer of humor in her eyes. Elsa just hummed low in her throat, closing her eyes and enjoying both the warmth of the fire and of her beloved sibling.

"Hey, I know," Anna said suddenly, shrugging her arm off of Elsa in her excitement who sat up with an annoyed huff yet still could not keep the smile off of her lips.

"What do you know?" she humored her, but really just wanted to get back to cuddling after a long day of politicians.

"We should leave the castle. I mean, not forever, but for a few days, just the two of us, and go exploring! Or go visit another kingdom! Like a vacation," Anna suggested, her smile wider than should be possible.

"Oh? And what would we do on a vacation? Build an ice palace on top of a giant mountain? Go to the beach? Play pirates?" Elsa's voice was teasing, but still warm and affectionate and didn't dissuade Anna in the slightest. In fact, seeing her sister so loose and relaxed when she was usually so stressed just further encouraged her. As for the Queen, spending a few days away from the kingdom with the sister whom she secretly desired so much wasn't exactly the worst idea she'd heard all day. That title belonged to the Duke who'd suggested outlawing cutting grass so they could use it as trade stock with wintery kingdoms. ("Like…Arendelle?" Elsa had confusedly asked.)

"No! I mean, well, if you wanted to, but don't you just want to relax? Not do anything for a few days and forget you're Queen?" Anna pleaded, lacing her fingers together with Elsa's who was already thinking it over. Her eyes had softened though, for she wanted that more than almost anything.

"I'll think about, Anna," she told her gently, not making any promises she didn't know if she could keep. The Princess bit her lip and in an usually serious display of tenderness, cupped Elsa's cheeks with her soft palms.

"I just think that after everything, you deserve some time to just be yourself without anybody depending on you for something."

Elsa's eyes flickered between Anna's for a few seconds, and before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and their lips connected.

Her little sister tasted like peppermint and chocolate and possibly sunshine if she was being sentimental, and she was softer than anything she'd ever experienced before. Anna wasted only a second of surprise before her eyes had slid shut, her fingers tangled in Elsa's snowy hair, and her mouth responding in ways that sent shivers down her spine. Her tongue darted out to swipe against Elsa's bottom lip, and she reeled away in shock.

"I— I—" the normally regal Queen stuttered, not able to meet the crestfallen eyes of her sister and her cheeks a mad shade of red. She was overcome by almost mindnumbing shame and guilt as she scrambled off the couch and scampered away without a glance behind her. How could she do that? Anna was her baby sister! How could she do that to her?

—-

"Elsa, please let me in…"

The Queen adamantly ignored her, sitting against the door with her face in her knees and her room frozen to the top. This was a position she'd promised herself she would never, ever revisit, but she had also promised herself she'd never lose control of herself around Anna and breaking promises seemed to be the trend tonight.

"Elsa, please… Don't shut me out. Don't do this to yourself…"

Her heart ached at the sound of her sister calling so softly to her. She'd kissed her, something that was forbidden among family, and she still loved her enough to still care about her? The fact that Anna had kissed back meant nothing in her mind. Her perception of everything almost always left only herself at fault. She was probably surprised, and didn't want to push me away so she wouldn't hurt me. She should've pushed me away. It wouldn't be as bad, would it?

"Elsa, please just open the door… I'm not upset… I just want to be with you, right now."

After almost a half hour of gently cajoling her, Anna couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised when the door clicked open hesitantly. It goes to show how far they've come since they were children who never spoke to each other more than once a month. Still, she couldn't help but have her heart crack when she noticed the dreadful chill and the tear tracks on her sister's beautiful cheeks.

"Elsa…" was all she could murmur, before she stepped forward and took the Queen into her arms, hugging her tightly. She hesitated again for only a few moments before returning the embrace, letting Anna rest her head on her shoulder and breathe in deeply. "It's cold in here."

They were still for a few long minutes, Anna running one of her hands up and down Elsa's back until she finally got the courage to speak.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," the older of the two began mournfully. "I— I don't know what came over me, and it will never happen again, I swear it."

Anna lifted her head from her shoulder but kept her arms wrapped loosely around her waist. "Oh, Elsa.. Don't you get it? _I love you._ You're my true love, remember?" Blue eyes went wide. "I _want_ it to happen again. A lot, actually."

"Anna! I'm your… I'm your sister. I'm not supposed to feel like…this…about you," protested the Queen, looking more frightened than angry. Feelings were foreign to her after spending so much time in isolation, and feelings for her sister? She'd only been more scared when she thought she lost her.

"I want you, Elsa," she murmured quietly, appearing almost too serious for the happy-go-lucky girl she was known as. "Do you want me?"

"I'm your—"

"I said, do you want me?"

It was quiet for one, two, three beats.

"…Yes."

"Then kiss me again."

As their lips met again, slowly but surely, the frost began to melt. _Love will thaw a frozen heart._


End file.
